Improvement in fasteners for meeting-rails of sashes



G. VOLL.

FASTENERS FOR MEETING-RAILS OF SASHES.

No'.183,99Z. Patented 0ct.31.1876.

FIG.8.

I 15 I Z UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

GEORGE VOLL, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN FASTENERS FOR MEETING-RAILS 0F SASHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 183,992, dated October31, 1876; application filed August 28, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE VoLL,ofGincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio, have invented certain new andusefnllmprovements in Fasteners for the Meetin g-Bails of Window-Sashes,of which the following is a specification:

The object of this invention is to provide a cheap, simple, and durabledevice wherewith the meeting-rails of a pair of window-sashes may be sosecurely fastened together as to prevent them being unlocked from theoutside, while at the same time the sashes can be readily disengaged byany person within the room; and my fastener consists, essentially, of aplate capable of being secured to the meeting'rail of the upper sash,said plate being provided with an upwardly-projecting tube, which servesas the pivot or center of vibration of a horizontallyoscillating lever,having a spur near its front endthat engages with the customary undercut and eccentric flange or rib of the plate that is attached to thelower sash-rail. The rear end-of this lever has pivoted to it a latchthat is maintained in its normal or closedcondition by a suitablespring, and when thus closed the lower portion of said latch bearsagainst one end of a curved flange in such a manner as to effectuallyprevent the locking-lever being shifted by the passage of anarrow-bladed implement up between the two meeting-rails. The aforesaidcurved flange .occupies about one-fourth of a circle, and is concentricwith the tubular pivot of the lever, being cast with or otherwiserigidly secured to the same plate as is said tubular pivot. Now, bysimply pressing one finger against the upwardly-projectin g end of thespring latch the lower end thereof springs outwardly, and is at oncethrown out of contact with the extremity of the eccentric flange. Thisact leaves the lever free to be turned on its pivot, and as soon assaidv lever has described about one-fourth of a circle the stress of thespring forces the lower portion of the pivoted lalch inwardly, so as tocome in contact with the other extremity of thereoncentric flange, andthereby lock the lever in its new position.

The tubular pivot previously alluded to occupies a central oraxialposition within the barrel or cylindrical portion of thelockinglever, and said cylinder is provided with a horizontal partition,upon which rests a volute spring. This spring serves the twofold purposeof maintaining the pivoted latch in its normal position, and also ofkeeping the operative parts snugly together so as to prevent rattling.Projecting laterally from the tube is a lug or pin that rests upon theupper surface of the horizontal partition of the cylinder, by whicharrangement said lug coacts with the axial bolt or rivet in securing thelever to its appropriate plate. This laterallyprojecting lug passesthrough a suitable slot in said partition when the fastener is firstfitted together.

In the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, Figure l isa plan of my fastener in its normal or locked position, and Fig. 2 is anelevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan showing the fastener unlocked,and Fig. 4: is an elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a plan showing theoperative parts in the same position as represented in Fig. 1, the capbeing removed, and the rivet sectioned. Fig. 6 is a similar view of thesame devices, but showing the locking-lever in the position representedin Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a plan of a portion of the plate which is securedto the upper sash-rail. Fig. 8 is a plan ofa portion of thelocking-lever and Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertica'l section through theoperative parts of the fastener.

A represents the meeting-rail of the lower sash, and B the correspondingrail of the upper sash, which latter rail is provided with a light, b.Secured to rail B with screws 0 is a horizontal plate, G, havinga tube,D, cast with it, or otherwise attached thereto. This tube is traversedwith a rivet, E, whose head 6 imparts a finished appearance to the lock,and at the same time said head acts as a cap to conceal a spiral orvolute spring, which serves the twofold purpose of maintaining the latchin its normal position, and of holding the locking-lever snugly againstplate 0. Furthermore, said plate is furnished with a segmental hub orboss, F, whose terminations or shoulders ff serve as stops to limit themotion of the locking-lever H in either direction as will presentlyappear. Projecting from said plate is a flange or rib, Gr, concentricwith rivet E, and occupying somewhat less than a quadrant. Theterminations g and g of this flange act as stops for the retaining-latchof the fastener.

The locking lever previously alluded to consists of an arm, H, Whoseinner end is furnished with any convenient knob or handle, h. This leveris provided with a cylindrical portion or barrel, I, having a horizontalpartition, J, which latter is pierced with an eye, K, and a slot, k.This eye fits snugly around the tube D, while the slot it permits a lug,(1, being passed up through said partition J when the lock is fittedtogether. The aforesaid lug d projects laterally from tube D. The boreof the lower portion of barrel I is of such diameter as to allow thelever H rotating freely in a horizontal plane around the hub F. By thisarrangement said hub coacts with tube D to constitute a pivot or fulcrumfor locking-lever H h. Barrel I has an inwardly-projecting stump orother stop, 2', which is adapted to strike against either of theshouldersfor f, according as the lever H is swungeither to the right orleft. Projecting rearwardly from this barrel are two'vertical andparallel cheeks, L L, between which is fitted a latch,M, capable ofswinging on pivot, on. These cheeks are cutaway at their lower ends, asshown at l l, in Fig. 8, so as to clear the eccentric rib G when lever His turned on its pivot. These cheeks, instead of extending down as faras plate 0, may stop short of flange G, in which case the notches l lwill be omitted, as seen in Fig. 4. Projecting from latch M toward thetube D is a toe, N, that sustains the upward stress of a volute spring,0. This spring V is coiled around tube D, and rests upon the partitionJ, as more clearly shown in Figs. 5

barrel I down on plate 0, and also keeps the toe N in contact with theunder side of cap 6. (See Fig. 9.)

This arrangement enables said spring, acting as an anti-rattler, toprevent any clattering of the fastener when the sashes are shaken by thewind or otherwise. Secured to meeting-rail A, with screwsp, is a plate,P, having the customary eccentric flange K, with whose front andundercut edge the spur 1' of lever H engages, as seen in Fig. 2.

To fit my fastener together, it is only necessary to dispose lever Hlongitudinally of plate 0, and allow the lug d of tube D to pass throughslot k ofpartition J, after which spring 0 is applied in its properposition. Pivot E is then inserted in tube D and headed up at its lowerend, thereby causing the cap a to serve as a cover for barrel I. The twoplates P and O are then applied to the respective rails A and B in theusual manner. To lock these rails A and B together, lever H h is swungtotheleft until stump z impinges against shoulder f of hub F, and thusarrests the farther movement of the lever in that direction. As thelever turns on its pivot D F the lower end of latch M rides aroundagainst the outer periphery of rib Gr; but, as soon as said latch isbrought opposite the end 9 of said rib, the stress of spring 0 on thetoe N swings the free end of the latch toward the barrel I. In thisposition of lever H it is evident the fastener cannot be unlocked byinserting any implement between the rails A and B, for the simple reasonthat any attempt to turn said lever to the right will be effectuallyresisted by the latch M bearing against the end 9 of rib Gr.

It will also be noticed that in this position of the fastener the lug drests upon the partition J, and thereby overcomes any attempt to drivethe lever H up bodily from off its supporting-plate 0. (See Figs. 5 and9.) It will thus be seen that said lug d coacts with rivet E e to securethe lever H to its plate 0. While thus effectually preventing the windowbeing opened from the outside, any person within the room can unlock thefastener in a moment by the performance of the following simplemanipulations: One finger is engaged over the upwardly-projecting end oflatch M, and said latch is turned until its handle rests against cap 6,as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the springO readilyyieldingtoallow this movement of the latch. This act' throws the lower end of saidlatch out far enough to clear the rib G, and leaves lever H at libertyto be swung to the right, and be thereby disengaged from the eccentricflange R. As soon as the lever has described one-fourth of a circle thestumpi comes in contact with the shoulderf of hub F, and at once arrestsany further movement of said lever to the right. Latch M now flies downbehind the end g of rib G, and secures the lever H in its new position;and, when thus secured, said lever cannot be accidentally shifted by anyshaking ofthe window or otherwise. When the lever is in this positionlug dis vertically above slot k, as seen in Fig. 6; but, as no upwardstrain can now be brought to bear against lever H, such disposition ofthe slot with reference to the lug is not objectionable, especially asrivet E 0 acts as a secondary device to maintain the barrel I on plate0.

While preferring to use the concealed volute-spring O, as described, Ireserve the right to operate latch M with a spring applied externally tobarrel 1, or with a spring or elastic cushion located between the cheeksL L.

I claim as my invention- 1. The lever H, pivoted to plate 0 of asashfastener, and carrying at its rear end a vertically-pivotedspring-latch, M N, which latter is capable of impinging against eitherend of concentric rib G g g of plate 0, for the purpose oflocking saidlever, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination of supporting-plate 0. tube D, rivet E e, shoulderedhub F ff, concentric flange G gg, lever B I 11, operatingspring 0, andpivoted latch M N, substantial- 1y as herein described.

3. The combination of tube D, partitioned. cylinder H I J, eye K, slotis, and laterallyprojecting lug d, when said slot and lug are arrangedwith reference to each other, substantially as herein described.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE VOLL.

Witnesses:

JAMES H. LAYMAN, L. H. BOND.

